Flexible pocket receptacle



Oct. 12, 1937. w. R. BUXTON FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTAGLE Filed Aug. 15, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR M RNER RBuxm/v v-M ATTORNEYS Get. 12, 1937. w. R; BUXTON 2,095,593

FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTACL-E Fil ed Aug. 13, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY WA RNER RBux ro/v o M Z9 Z4 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTACLE Warner R. Bnxton, Longmeadow, Mass. Application August 13, 1934, Serial No. 739,534 11 Claims. (01. 150 38) This invention relates to improvements in flexible pocket receptacles, of. the type intended for carrying bills, checks and other papers and commonly known as a bill fold.

The invention has for an object the provision of an improved inner wall construction for a pocket receptacle of the type in which the inner wall is composed of a plurality of sections, relatively movable to avoid buckling, when the receptacle is opened or closed by folding it along a transverse line of fold.

' More particularly, the invention has for an object an inner wall construction consisting of a central section having opposed outwardly-flaring or blunt wedge-shaped end portions, which are slidable in correspondingly formed runways formed by the relatively stationary end sections of the inner wall. By this construction, the central section, which has a central transverse line of fold, corresponding to a similar line of fold in the outer wall, is positively moved into centralized relation each time the bill fold is opened, whereby the two lines of fold are made to coincide and it is positively and firmly held in centralized relation while the bill fold is opened. Also, when the bill fold is closed, clearance is created between the central section and its runways, yielding increased freedom for the sliding movement.

-The invention may also be practiced with the 3-0 central section of the inner wall having but one such outwardly flaring end. This arrangement affords the advantage of full freedom for the central section to slide in its runways and avoids the impeding frictional resistance due to the stufiing of cards and the like in the space between such section and the inner wall end section, with respect to which it slides;

The invention also affords an improved construction for retaining in place, without the usual forms of fastenings, various elements such, for example, as a Celluloid window for forming a transparent closure for an opening in an inner wall end section, or a liner for a pocket formed in such end section. These elements made more or less of trapezoidal or blunt wedge-shaped form with their upper and lower edges diverging toward the outer end of the bill fold and fitted to the runways, cannot pull out even if they are not stitched in place. The stitching of Celluloid, in particular, presents a vexing problem to the bill fold manufacturer because the stitches pull out in a short time.

The invention also has for an object the provision of an improved pocket construction for bill fol'ds -the pocket being formed by slitting one of the inner wall end sections thereof and inserting a piece, preferably of blunt wedge shape form and retained in place as above described, which piece forms a smooth runway from the entrance of the pocket inwardly, allowing articles to be freely inserted or removed from the pocket without impedance due to the shoulder formed by the underlying slit portion of the inner wall.

These and other objects will more particularly appear as the detailed description proceeds and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of an open bill fold embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional plan view thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view, taken similarly to Fig. 1, showing a slightly different form of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a view, taken similarly to Fig. 1, showing another form of the invention; and

Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are views of the several parts from which the bill fold of Fig. 1 is made.

Referring first to the form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 1, the bill fold there shown is or may be made up from the parts shown in Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive. Fig. 5 shows, in developed form, a blank of leather or other suitable flexible material, which blank, when folded as hereinafter described, forms the body of the bill fold. It includes an outer wall l5, substantially rectangular in form, except that its lower edge I6 has two portions [8 which slope from their outer ends upwardly toward the lower extremity of the central transverse line of fold I1 in the outer wall. Attached to the outer Wall, one to each such edge IB and preferably by an integral connection at the fold line, are inner wall end sections 19 and 20, disposed one on each side of the line of fold l1.

7 Attached, preferably integrally, to each of these end sections are flaps 2!, each foldable about a line 22. For each end section the lines of fold l8 and 22 converge inwardly toward the center of the bill fold. The flaps 2| are folded upwardly along lines 22 over and upon their respective end sections is or 20 as the case may be, and then these end sections are folded upwardly along lines l8 over and upon the outer wall I5. The parts are then secured in folded relation in any suitable way, as by stitches 23 (Fig. 1) which fasten the outer end edges of the end sections to the outer end edges of the outer wall and may, and preferably do, also fasten the outer end edges of flaps 2|. The body of the bill fold is thus formed with two longitudinally spaced end sections i9 and 20 secured to the outer wall, one on each side of the line of fold IT, and the fold lines 18 and 22 provide runways for the lower and upper edges of the central and slidable section of the inner wall. Each flap 2! need be just wide enough to provide in cooperation with its end section a sufiicient slideway for said central section.

This central section is shown in Fig. 8. It has two oppositely-disposed outwardly-flaring trapezoidal-shaped sections 24 which have the form of blunt end wedges and are disposed one on each side of a central transverse line of fold 25. The

pper and lower edges of each trapezoidal part 24-3 converge toward the line of fold 25 and have the same slope as the lines l8 and 22. This section may be laid on wall l5 with its fold line 25 in coincidence with fold linell prior to the folding operation above described. Its lower edge rests on fold line [8 which it is shaped to fit, and its lower portion is retained between the outer wall" l5 and the end sections 19 and 2D. Its u'pper edge engages fold line 22, which it is shaped to fit, and its upper portion is retained between the flaps 2i and outer wall 15. The length of the central section is less than that of the outer wall so that there is room for it to slide outwardly at each end when the bill fold is closed by folding it along the coincident fold lines I! and 25 to superpose one half of the bill fold upon the other. When the parts are positioned as in Fig. 1,the wedge shaped parts 2d closely fit in their respective and correspondingly shaped runways and the central section cannot be moved in either direction out of its centralized relation with the outer wall l5, in which relation the lines of fold H and 25 lie coincident. If during the act of closing the bill fold or subsequently opening it, the central section becomes displaced from such relation, it will again be centralized when the bill fold is fully opened because in such case one set of converging runways !8-22 will engage one wedge shaped end 24 before the other end 24. is engaged by the converging runways on the other end section and thus the central section will be moved to the right or left, as required, and by the necessary distance to efiect centralization. Not only is the central section centralized each time the bill fold is opened but it is positively and very effectively held against displacement from such relation. It is thus insured. that whenever the bill fold is folded to close it, the folding of the central section will be initiated, as desired, always along the predetermined line of fold 25.

It isoften desired to subdivide the bill compartment, formed between the outer wall 55 and the composite inner wall comprising the sections i9, 26, and 2 1. For this purpose I provide a partition 26, shown separately in Fig. 9. This partition is, or may be, shaped more or less like the central section and it is attached to the central section in any suitable way to move therewith. As shown in Fig. 1, the partition is secured at two spaced locations along its lower edge by stitches 21 to the central section. Intermediate its ends, the lower edge of the partition is cut away to avoid undue bulk near the bottom of the bill fold. This leaves spaced end portions 29 which are fastened, as above described, to the central section." The upper portion of the partition lies between the outer wall l5 and the two flaps 2!. The partition will move with the central section as the bill fold is opened and closed, wherefore its line of fold 28 will be maintained coincident with the lines of fold I1 and 25.

It is often desired to utilize the space between an end section, such for example as I9, and the sliding central section as a pocket to contain passes, lodge cards and the like. When it is desired to display the outermost of the cards in such pocket, a window opening 30 is provided in the end section [9 and a transparent closure 3| is placed in the pocket to lie in back of such opening. This piece 3| is usually made of Celluloid and usually it is fastened to section l9 by stitches. Such fastening is unsatisfactory for the Celluloid soon cracks at the stitch holes and the stitches pull out. If the Celluloid is not fastened,it is likely to pull out of covering relation with the window opening because of frictional resistance with the sliding central section. The use of the converging runways for the central sliding section enables me to use a Celluloid piece 3| which does not need to be stitched in place and which cannot accidentally be moved out of place. The piece 3! is simply made in the shape of a trapezoid to fit in the runways. Hence, it cannot move inwardly or toward the mouth ofthe card containing pocket described.

On the other end section, I provide a novel.

form of pocket for small cards or stamps and so forth. To form this pocket, the wall 20 is cut through along a line 32, preferably sloping as shown. On the back of wall 20, a thin piece of flexible material 33 is pasted to the left hand section of the slit wall and extends toward or to the adjacent closed end of the bill fold, unsecured tothe other and right hand section of the slit wall 28 or enough so to leave between it and the piece a pocket. This construction leaves an abrupt shoulder 35 (Fig. 2) on which cards, if fully pushed into the pocket, might catch, making it difiicult to extract them. To overcome this defeet, I place a piece of leather 35 in the pocket and allow one edge to protrude beyond the cut edge 32. This piece forms a smooth runway for the cards extending to, or substantially to, the closed end of the pocket. It not only overcomes the difllculties which would otherwise occur because of the shoulder 34, but it actually facilitates the insertion of cards and small papers in the pocket. One presses a corner of a card against the exposed surface of the piece 35 and that surface directs the card into the pocket. While the piece 35 may be fastened in place in any suitable way, it may be effectively held in place in the same manner as the Celluloid piece 31. Accordingly,

I show in Fig. 6 the piece 35 in the form of a trapezoid shaped to fit closely in the runways l8 and 22. The piece 35 will then be held so that it cannot be pulled out of the pocket. To overcome any tendency of the exposed corners of piece 35 to become dog-cared, the corners may be reenforced by fastening small pieces 36 to the back side thereof in the locations'shown in Fig. 6.

According to the construction described, the central section is provided with upper and lower edges that are tapering. Obviously, this is not necessary to the successful practice of the invention. Only one edge of the central section need be so formed, as will be clear from the example shown in Fig. 3. The construction here is generally like that already described except that the lower edge of the outerwall is straight from end to end and the two lines of fold l8 lie in the same straight line. This construction is preferred sin'ce it affords a straight bottom for the bill compartment. In Fig. 3, parts which correspond with parts shown in Fig. 1 have been designated by the same reference numerals primed Further description of the construction is thought unnecessary except to state that the window opening has been omitted and the two pockets, formed by slits 32', in the same manner as above described, have been provided, one oneach end section. The construction of Fig. 3 affords a more pleasing appearance and is considered the best commercial form.

While the central section of the inner wall has been shown as a separate piece and wholly free to slide relatively to the end sections with which it cooperates, the invention may be practiced and some of its advantages obtained in bill folds, where the central section is formed as an extension of one inner wall end section and extends across the central transverseline of fold of the outer wall into overlapping and slidable relation with the other end section. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 4. Here one inner wall has an integral extension 4|, provided with a line of fold 42 to overlie the line of fold H in the outer'wall, and such extension is provided with a wedge-shaped end portion 43 to fit the slideways l8 and 22 of the other end section 20. The construction otherwise is like that of Fig. 3 and parts in Fig. 4 which correspond with parts in Fig. 3 have been designated by the same reference numerals. Naturally, this construction is not as good as the other two described but it can be used to secure some of the benefits of the invention. The sliding piece 43 cannot be dislodged from the pocket in which it slides. Also, as the bill fold is folded to close it, the same advantage of increased sliding freedom is obtained. That is, the sliding end 43, as it moves outwardly, has more and more clearance between its upper and lower edges and the runways in which such edges are engaged, just as is the case with the corresponding parts 24 and 24 of Figs. 1 and 3 respectively.

In use, it frequently happens that the pockets between the end sections and the sliding section portions (because of the convergence of the walls near the end closure) the widening of the pockets near the closed ends offsets the normal restrictions and avoids the binding action on the sliding section that might otherwise occur when the pockets are stuffed with cards.

The centering feature is one of outstanding importance. Unless the sliding section is centralized prior to the folding of one half of the bill fold upon the other, it will bend along some other and parallel line. In repeated folding operations, the sliding section may bend along many different lines instead of always at the desired predetermined line and, as a result, the leather in time will become soft and flabby in they mid-portion of the central section. Then, when the bill fold is closed, the central section is likely to crumple up in its mid-portion instead of sliding as is desired. It is the middle portion of the central section that has to resist the pressure due to the inward movement of the end sections in the act of closing the bill fold. Therefore, this mid-portion needs to be maintained stiff to avoid crumpling and the positive and effective centering of the sliding section avoids the creation of the soft and flabby condition by making the bend in the central section always occur along one predetermined line.

It is also important not to have the ends of the sliding section, or either of them, pull out of the pockets in which they slide. With prior constructions, where the sliding section had its upper and lower edges parallel, this often occurred. In placing bills in the bill compartment, one very naturally will press down on the exposed central part of the sliding section in the act of spreading apart the walls of the bill compartment. This releases the upper edge of the sliding section from its runways, increasing the clearance therebetween. As a result, the end sections then can and do swing outwardly away from the outer wall. Continued pressure increases the extent of the action described until one end or the other of the sliding piece pulls out of place. The action is accelerated when there is an outward as well as a downward push on the middle part of the upper edge of the sliding section. The present construction avoids this difficulty. The sliding section can be made to fit tightly in its slideways when the bill fold is opened, and yet give freedom for sliding during the closing operation. Downward pressure on the central exposed part of the upper edge of the sliding section is resisted first by the wedge-shaped ends tightly fitting in their slideways and preventing withdrawal of such ends and, second, by truss like support afforded by the upwardly sloping lower edges of the sliding section in the construction of Fig. 1, and, third, by the reenforcement of the section by the extra width of material at its ends.

Aside from these advantages, the construction enables pieces such as liners, windows such as 30, runways such as 35, partitions and the like, to be effectively held in the pockets against withdrawal without the use of any fastenings. The pocket construction is also thought to be important.

Aside from the features heretofore pointed out, the invention has an important advantage in that the effects of distortion of the walls of the billfold are rendered inconspicuous by the nonparallel arrangement of the upper edges of the inner wall, partition and outer wall. This advantage may be secured wholly independently of all other features of the invention, depending as it does on the non-parallel relation of said edges. The distortion effects, referred to, arise from the spreading apart of the several walls (outer, inner and partition walls) caused by the stufifing of bills in the bill compartments. The result is a down throw of the inner wall and an upthrow of the partition wall. When bills are inserted in the billfold, the outer and inner walls are spread apart. The inner wall end sections l9 and 20 which are fixed along their lower and outer end edges I8 and 23 to the outer wall l5, are forced away from the outer wall and drawn downwardly to some extent, causing the upper edges 22 to become lowered. This action occurs to the greatest degree near the center of the. billfold and decreases progressively to zero at the ends of'the billfold, so that the upper edges 22, if horizontal as they have been heretofore, would when distorted slope downwardly and inwardly from both ends to the center. The downward movement of these end sections causes a downward movement of the intermediate section 24, since the upper edge of the latter is engaged by the end sections. As the section 2d moves downwardly its lower edge will be engaged with the lower runway I8, which does not lower when the upper runway 22 does, and said edge will bend rearwardly toward the outer wall l5 with a tendency to climb up said wall. The partition 26, being attached to the lower edge of section 24 is therefore pushed upwardly, it being entirely free to rise. Thus, the upper edge of the partition 26 will be forced upwardly and to a degree which is greatest in the central portion thereof and progressively decreases to zero at the ends. The upper edge of the partition, if horizontal in accordance with prior practice, would when distorted as described, slope upwardly and inwardly from both endsto the center. Thus, the distortion effects are a downthrow of the upper edge of the inner wall and an upthrow of the partition wall and these distortion effects are particularly conspicuous where said edges are normally in parallel relation. By sloping the edges, as herein shown, the effects are made inconspicuous. The upper edges of the inner, outer and partition wall are not normally parallel and a change in the slope of the upper edges of the partition and inner wall is not noticeable.

Thus, the invention provides an improved construction of flexible pocket receptacle having many important advantages. It is recognized that the invention may be carried out in various ways differing specifically from those herein disclosed. It is therefore not the intention to limit the invention-to the details herein disclosed except insofar as they are expressly included in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable along a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another, and an inner wall composed of at least two parts which are relatively slidable in a longitudinal direction when the outer wall is folded about said line, moving together during the folding and drawing apart during the unfolding, one of said parts having a portion in the form of a blunt ended wedge having its wedge edges converging toward said line of fold, the other part having complementary shaped runways with which the wedge edges engage when the outer wall is completely unfolded to limit the extent of separation of said parts and firmly hold them against disengagement.

2. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldab-le about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another, means connected to the outer wall on one side of said line of fold and providing upper and lower non-parallel runways, said runways extending from a location near one end edge of said outer wall to a location near said line of fold and being more widely spaced at the first-named location than at the last-named location, said means also forming part of an inner wall for said receptacle, and a complementary inner wall forming means including a part connected to the outer wall and located on the other side of said line of fold and a .part extending across said line of fold and shaped to fit between said runways with its upper and lower edges closely fitting the same when both parts of the outer wall lie in the same plane.

3.- A fiexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another, means connected to the outer wall on one side of said line of fold and providing upper and lower non-parallel runways, said runways converging toward said line of fold, said means also forming part of an inner wall for said receptacle, and a complementary inner wall forming means including a part connected to the outer wall and located on the other side of said line of fold and a part extending across said line of fold and having an end of trapezoidal form the upper and lower edges of which closely fit said runways when both parts of the outer wall lie in the same plane. I

4. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable along a transverse line of fold to enable one part to be superposed upon another and an inner wall including two sections which are relatively slidable in alongitudinal direction when the outer wall is folded about said line, one section having a runway to slidably receive the upper edge of the other and forming with the outer wall a runway for the lower edge of the other section, said upper and lowerrunways being inclined to one another and converging in a direction toward said line of fold and said upper and lower edges being correspondingly formed and closely fitting their runways when the receptacle is unfolded with both parts of the outer wall located in the same plane.

5. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be super posed upon another, and an inner wall, said inner wall composed of longitudinally spaced sections which are secured to the outer wall and move therewith when the same is folded about said line and which are located one on each side of said line, and a member bridging the gap between said sections and having anend which overlaps and is slidable in a longitudinal direction relatively to one such section when the outer wall is folded about said line, said last named section having a flap and said endof said member being slidably received between such section and its flap, such section and flap being united along their upper edges to form a runway for the upper edge of said member, such section and the outer wall being united along their lower edges to form a runway for the lower edge of said member, said runways being inclined to one another converging in a direction. toward said line of fold and the overlapping end of said member having itsupper and lower edges correspondingly formed and closely fitting said runways when the receptacle is unfolded with both parts of the outer wall located in the same plane.

6. A flexiblepocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another and an inner wall, said inner wall composed of longitudinally spaced end sections which are secured to the outer wall and move therewith when the same is folded about said line and which are located one on each side of the latter and a central section which bridges the gap'between said sections and has its ends in overlapping relation one with each of said end sections] and slidablein a longitudinal direction relatively thereto, said end sections united along their loweredges to the lower edge of the outer wall to form lower runways on which the lower edge of said central section slides, and flaps one for each end section each having its upper edge united to the upper edge of its end section to form upper runways with which the upper edge of said central section is slidably engaged, each set of upper and lower runways being more widely spaced near their cuter than at their inner ends and the overlapping ends of the central section being shaped to closely fit said runways when both parts of said outer wall lie in the same plane.

7. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another and an inner wall, said inner wall composed of longitudinally spaced end sections which are secured to the outer wall and move therewith when the same is folded about said line and which are located one on each side of the latter and a central section which bridges the gap between said sections and has outwardly flaring end portions overlapping one with each end section and slidable in a longitudinal direction relatively thereto, said end sections united along their lower edges to the lower edge of the outer wall to form lower runways on which the lower edge of said central section slides, and flaps one for each end section each having its upper edge united to the upper edge of its end section to form upper runways with which the upper edge of the outwardly flaring end portions of said central section is slidably engaged, said runways shaped to closely fit said edges when both parts of the outer wall lie in the same plane.

8. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another, means connected to the outer wall to provide two sets of runways located one set on one side and the other set on the other side of said line of fold, each said set composed of upper and lower non-parallel runways which are spaced more closely at the ends adjacent said line of fold than at their remote ends, said means also forming part of an inner wall for the receptacle,

and a central inner wall part cooperating with said means to complete the inner wall and having its ends shaped to fit said runways and slidably engaged therewith.

9. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising an outer wall foldable about a transverse line intermediate its ends to enable one part to be superposed upon another and an inner wall cooperating with the outer wall to form a compartment open at its upper end, said inner wall composed of end sections secured to the outer wall and disposed one on each side of said line of fold and a central section bridging the gap between the end sections and having its ends overlapping one with each end section, said central section slidably engaged with the bottom of said compartment, the upper edge of said central section sloping upwardly and outwardly from a location near the center to a location near its ends, and means on each end section forming a runway to engage the adjacent sloping edge and closly fit the same when the parts of the outer wall lie in the same plane, whereby said central section is then held against longitudinal movement in either direction but can slide relatively to said end sections when the outer wall is folded about said line.

10. In a flexible pocket receptacle, a pair of walls of leather or the like superposed to form between them a pocket, means cooperating with said walls to close said pocket along two side edges and one end edge leaving the other end of the pocket open, the sides of said pocket converging from the closed end of the pocket toward the open end thereof, one of said walls having an opening and a transparent closure for said opening, said closure located within the pocket and having side edges to closely fit the converging sides of said pocket and held thereby against withdrawal from the pocket.

11. A billfold, comprising, outer and inner walls and an intervening partition wall superposed one upon another, said inner wall composed of end sections mounted one near each end of the outer wall with their inner ends in longitudinally spaced relation and an intermediate section bridging the space between the said inner ends and slidable relatively to at least one end section, each end section connected along its lower side edge and outer end edge to the lower side edge and adjacent outer end edge of the outer wall, whereby the spreading apart of the inner and outer walls by the insertion of bills therebetween causes the inner wall end sections to bulge outwardly away from the outer wall and draws the upper edge of each downwardly to a progressively increasing degree from a minimum at its outer end to a maximum near its inner end without drawing down the lower edges of the end sections, said intermediate section being so interengaged with the end sections as to move downwardly therewith, the lower edge of said partition being interconnected with the lower edge of said intermediate section, whereby in the downward movement of the intermediate section its lower edge is engaged by the unlowered lower edges of the end sections and deflected to push upwardly on said partition, the upper edges of said end sections and the upper edge of the partition and the upper edge of the outer wall having a normal non-parallel relation to render inconspicuous the relative transverse displacements of said walls, the upper edges of said end sections sloping in opposite directions from their outer and wider ends to their inner and more narrow ends and substantially uniformly from end to end, the upper edge of the partition sloping uniformly but to a less degree and in opposite directions from its wider ends to its more narrow central portion.

WARNER. R. BUXTON. 

